06 Jul 2017
MoMA's Young Architects Program returns with innovative interactive installation
BY Kim Megson
A constantly evolving installation that adapts to heat, sunlight and the number of visitors has opened at the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) sister institution in Long Island City.
Jenny Sabin Studio have created 'Lumen' in the courtyard of MoMA PS1 as part of the annual Young Architects Program, which offers emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and present innovative temporary, outdoor installations.
The structure, on display until 4 September, bathes visitors in a responsive photo-luminescent glow at night, and emit grounds of cooling mist during hot days.
It has been created using over 1,000,000 yards of digitally knitted and robotically woven fibre, two large-scale canopies with 1,500 cellular components that absorb and deliver light, and 250 hanging tubular structures.
The multi-sensory design is shaped by mathematical generation and form-finding simulations, informed by the sun, site, materials and programme. As a result, the more people there are, the closer they are together, and the warmer it is, the more mist will be released to create a refreshing micro-climate.
"Now in its 18th iteration, this annual competition offered jointly by the Architecture and Design Department at MoMA and MoMA PS1 continues to take risks and encourage experimentation among architects,” said Klaus Biesenbach, MoMA’s chief curator.
“Jenny Sabin’s 'Lumen' is a socially and environmentally responsive structure that spans practices and disciplines in its exploratory approach to new materials. Held in tension within the walls of MoMA PS1’s courtyard, it turns visitors into participants who interact through its responsiveness to temperature, sunlight, and movement.”
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